Nokia Lumia 1020 available online at AT&T as of today

AT&T has just started selling the Nokia Lumia 1020, the latest and greatest Windows Phone 8 device – officially announced earlier this month. It’s been available to pre-order since July 16, and some of those who’ve pre-ordered may have received it several days ago.

As you may already know, the second largest US carrier is offering the new Lumia for $299.99 on contract.

The 1020 it the most expensive WP8 handset in the US, as well as the second most expensive smartphone in AT&T’s current line-up, alongside the iPhone 5 32GB. The iPhone 5 64GB takes the crown here, as it costs $399 on contract.

Is the Lumia 1020 worth $299.99? Maybe. Pretty much all reviewers are declaring the camera on the Lumia 1020 the best included in a smartphone. Ever. It’s a 41MP PureView camera with Carl Zeiss lens, optical image stabilization, Xenon flash, and lossless zoom (for both photos and video). You’ll certainly manage to take photos at a quality previously unseen on a phone.

Camera aside, the Lumia 1020 is similar, specs-wise, to the Lumia 920 (sold by AT&T for quite a while), Lumia 928 (available on Verizon), and Lumia 925 (offered by T-Mobile). But it does have a plus: 2GB of RAM, instead of 1GB on other Lumias.

In the end, it all depends on how much you need to have the best cameraphone ever made. If you really want it, you’ll probably not regret spending $299.99.

Just two days ago, AT&T has started offering another Nokia smartphone: the Lumia 520. This, however, is an entry-level device. It’s offered to GoPhone customers only, costing $99.99 (no contract required) – coincidentally being the cheapest WP8 handset in the US.

It’s not clear when the Lumia 1020 will land in Europe and other markets. It should happen sometime in August or September anyway. We’ll let you know.